The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they unfold.

US treasury secretary says renewal of waiver on Iranian oil sanctions won’t happen

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that the US does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea. And, he says, a renewal of the one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table.

“Not the Iranians,” Bessent tells The Associated Press. “We have the blockade, and there’s no oil coming out.”

“And we think in the next two, three days, they’re going to have to start shuttering production, which will be very bad for their wells.”

Bessent’s statements come as the world is on edge over the US-Israeli war in Iran, and global energy markets have been ensnarled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US originally issued a waiver for Russian oil sales and petroleum products in March with the intent of stabilizing global energy markets after crude oil prices surged above $100 per barrel.

The Treasury Department renewed the waiver two days after Bessent said at the White House that he had no plans to extend the sanctions relief.

Hamas-run agency says 13 killed yesterday in Israeli strikes on Gaza

The Hamas-run Gaza’s civil defense agency says Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory yesterday killed at least 13 people, including five in an attack that targeted a police vehicle.

Eight people, including a child, were killed and several others injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a police vehicle in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, the agency says, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas.

According to the territory’s Hamas-run interior ministry, two of those were police officers.

In a separate incident, three people — a woman and her two children — were killed when Israeli artillery struck residential homes near Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.

In a third attack, an Israeli aircraft struck another police patrol in Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, killing two people and injuring two others, it adds.

The interior ministry confirms that the two killed were police officers.

Gaza’s Al-Shifa and Nasser published the names of 12 of the 13 victims.

The 13th victim was a 12-year-old whose identity could not immediately be confirmed.

The IDF said it struck and killed several armed Hamas operatives who “posed a threat” to Israeli forces stationed nearby in the northern Gaza Strip.

The operatives were targeted in an airstrike “to remove the threat to our forces,” the military said in a statement.

Emanuel Fabian and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Tehran says no meeting planned between Iranian and US officials in Pakistan

No meeting is planned between Iranian and US officials during talks in Islamabad, and Tehran’s “observations” would be conveyed to Pakistani officials, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says in a post on X.

“We arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, for an official visit. FM [Abbas] Araghchi will be meeting with Pakistani high-level officials in concert with their ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression and the restitution of peace in our region,” the post reads.

“No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S. Iran’s observations would be conveyed to Pakistan,” the post adds.

We arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, for an official visit. FM Araghchi will be meeting with Pakistani high-level officials in concert with their ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression and the restitution of peace in our region. No meeting… pic.twitter.com/1vP51xIoep — Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) April 24, 2026

We arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, for an official visit. FM Araghchi will be meeting with Pakistani high-level officials in concert with their ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression and the restitution of peace in our region.

No meeting… pic.twitter.com/1vP51xIoep

— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) April 24, 2026

Israel reportedly agreed to, but did not implement US request to curb Gaza strikes

Israel did not implement an agreement with the US to halt airstrikes in the Gaza Strip beyond the Yellow Line — the line demarcating the part of the enclave controlled by the military since the October ceasefire-hostage release deal, the Haaretz daily reports.

According to the report, citing an official familiar with the matter and defense officials, around the time of the ceasefire with Iran earlier this month, the US asked Israel to halt the strikes unless there was an immediate threat to the lives of troops.

Israel reportedly agreed to the request, but continued carrying out strikes beyond the Yellow Line.

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